What is the Kanji for "Materials" and "Timber"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Materials" and "Timber", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Materials" and "Timber" is "材".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Zai".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "木" means "Tree" and "Wood" and can be read as "Boku", "Ki", "Moku", and "Ko". And The kanji "才" means "Talent" and "Age" and can be read as "Sai".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "材" mean in japanese?

"材" means "Materials" and "Timber".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fourth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

材料: "Material". The Japanese word '材料 (ざいりょう)' means 'material'. This noun refers to the basic components or substances used to make something. It can be used to describe the raw ingredients or supplies needed to create a product or complete a task. For example: The chef uses high-quality materials to cook - (シェフは高品質な材料を使って料理をします). We need to buy more building materials - (建築材料をもっと買う必要があります).

人材: "Talent". The Japanese noun '人材 (じんざい)' means 'talent'. This noun refers to skilled or capable human resources or personnel. It is often used in a business context to describe valuable employees or potential candidates. For example: Our company has many talented people - (うちの会社は優秀な人材が多い). We need to recruit more talented individuals - (より優秀な人材を採用する必要がある).

取材: "Coverage". The Japanese verbal noun '取材 (しゅざい)' means 'coverage'. This term refers to the act of gathering information, such as interviewing people or researching a topic, in order to report on it. It is commonly used in the context of journalism, where reporters 'take coverage' of a news story or event. For example: The journalist took coverage of the political scandal - (記者は政治スキャンダルの取材をした). The news coverage on the accident was extensive - (事故の取材は詳しかった).

材木: "Lumber". The Japanese noun '材木 (ざいもく)' refers to lumber or timber, which are pieces of wood that have been cut and prepared for use in construction or manufacturing. This word is commonly used to describe raw, unprocessed wood products that are ready to be used for building, furniture making, or other purposes. For example: The construction company ordered a large shipment of lumber - (建設会社は大量の材木を注文した). I need to buy some lumber to build a new bookshelf - (本棚を作るためにいくつかの材木を買う必要がある).

素材: "Material". The Japanese noun '素材 (そざい)' refers to a material or substance that is used to make something. It can be used to describe the raw components or ingredients that go into creating a final product, such as the materials used to make clothing, furniture, or food. For example: The materials for this dish are fresh and natural - (この料理の素材は新鮮で自然です). I need to purchase some materials to build a table - (テーブルを作るための素材を買う必要があります).

材: "Material". The Japanese suffix '材 (ざい)' means 'material'. This suffix is used to indicate the material or substance that something is made of. It can be attached to nouns to create words that specify the material, such as: 木材 (もくざい) - wooden material, 金属材 (きんぞくざい) - metal material. The suffix '材' provides information about the physical composition or raw ingredients that make up an object or substance.

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "ざ" is read as "za". And The hiragana "い" is read as "i".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.